Gearing for textile-printing machines



Dec. 2, 1930. I H. A. SMITH-ET Al. 1,783,889

GEARING FOR TEXTILE PRINTING MACHINES Filed oct. 12.' 1929 zsheets-Sneet 1 'v u I v 1 l@ @1mm nl y I www@ ffl? Dec. A2, 1930. H A. sMiTH ET AL. l 1,783,889

GERING FOR TEXTILE PRlNTING MACHINES Filed OOb. l2, 1929 2 Sheets-Shee't 2 EY l Patented Dec. 2, 193@ f i UNirED STATES i i,7s3,889 L "PATENT l OFFICE HERMAN AnSM-ITi-i AND GEORGE H; THOMSON, E WORCESTERy AND sTEri-iEN E. STAFFORD, or OXFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, Assieiions To RICE, BARTON a EAEES,

iNcoEroEAfrED, A cHUsE'iTs OIEVVORCESTEBE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSA- Application filed `October, 12, 1929. Serial No. 399,256.

tol provide for eliminating the removal of the intermediate gear for changes in circumference of the printing rollers, and in fact to eliminate the necessity of having a stock of intermediate orV star; gears of different sizes; to provide an adequate combined gear guard and stud reinforcement; to provide adjustable guards for the bites of the tting gears; also to obviate the necessity ofpbringing the driving pinion back into mesh With a .nevvintermediate -gear of a different size,

which is a troublesome and pains-taking operation; to provide an improved change speed device for ruiming the intermediate or star gear; to provide a simple and convenient device for setting and holding the intermediate pinions in adjusted position, and to provide an arrangement Wherebya ,singleV intermediate gear Will accommodate the greatest range in the size of the printing rollers that Will be needed for ordinary Work.

@ther objects and advantages of the invention Will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a side vievv7 partly in section of a printing machine constructed in accordance With this invention; A

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of the change speed mechanism;

Fig. 3 is an edge vievv ofthe same; Fig. 4 is a side View, on enlarged scale, with parts omitted; i

F ig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5;-5 of Fig/l; v i

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6.-6 of Fig. 4; j .Y

Fig; 7 is aside view of an individual gear guard, and i Fig. 8 is an edge vieW thereof.

This machine is designed as an improve- Vment over the Well-known type of color printing machines employingy the intaglio process. AS these machines are usually made, power is received from a shaft l0 Which is driven in any desired Wayland is mounted adjustably onan `inner bearingy and an out-board hearing, not shown, but; which has always been made adjustable to accommodate different Sizes of intermediate-gears. i

On this shaft 10 lin this case *isv a gear 9 Which, in theposition shown in Figs. 2 and 3, meshes With fa, gear 'Z which drives the intermediate or star gear 11. On the opposite Vside of thegear 9- is a smaller gear 6V not touching it, in the position Shown. Integraly Withthe gear is a larger gea-rb.

The gear 9 is Vmovable axially by a handle 4 so as to mesh, as shown,` with the gear 7 in one. position andA with the gear 5 in the other. The `gears 5, 6 and 7 are located on any oscillating'frame- 3 which is not slidable, butit is turned by the Worm; 2. By this the gear k6 canV be broughtinto mesh with; the gear 1l'.- Thezhandle 4, on beingmoved tol dotted line position in Fig. 3, slides the gear 9Y into meshvvith 'the gear 5. This changes vthe'speed. A platenV cylinder *12i is mounted on a` shaft concentric With Which, on ashaft 8,"the intermediate geary 1l is mounted to rotate freely. o w i The gear l1 does notf mesh directly With va series of'roller gears 13 as usual, one on the shaft of each of the color rollers 14.

Obviously when the diameters of the color changedv unless, ofcourse, the change of diameter is `so slight as to allow for a little lmore separation, and the operation .of the gears ljby a looser fit, Which-.Would notre-V ysult in good printingqThemain or platenV cylinder 12 is driven by surface contact With the'rollers 14 which are positively driven.

The' Vprintingfory color rollers are changed frequently for ones of diferent diameter `and this 'change would be responsible for several inconveniences. First it wouldA necessitate the removal of the intermediate gear 11 yand its replacement 'by one of a different size vin order to 'insure the contact of the printing rollers 14 with the platen cylindery l2. Of course, this would be necessary because the cylinder Was driven byA Contact WithY them.

VThis operation of removing and replacing the intermediate gear Was; inconvenient at to cover them entirely.

all times but particularly so on machines having a large number of color rollers, also any replacement of this gear due to accidental breakage was very expensive. If the gear was not replaced, due to the fact that the change in the size of the gears 13 might be very small, good driving Was not secured because the intermediate gear Would engage only the ends of the teeth of the gears 13 and chattering Would occur, Which would affect the quality of the printing and shorten the life of the gears. Furthermore, it Was necessary for the user of this machine to keep a large number of intermediate gears in stock, which is an expense in several Ways as Will be obvious.

Another very serious dieulty was that, when the intermediate gear was changed it Was necessary to bring the driving gear 9 into mesh with it, Which *Was done by moving its shaft 10. This was provided for by slots in the bracket which holds the outboard bearing and also the in-boardbearing, but Was a troublesome operation, as these tivo bearings had to be adjusted separately and to the same extent. Itv should be obvious that to perform this adjustment and keep the bearings in alignment, With a heavy gear on the shaft, was a very troublesome operation.

The above is mostly, except the change speed device, a description of the type of machine on which this invention is animprovement. By this invention each of the rolls 13 is connected With and driven from the intermediate gear 11 by a pinion 16. It Will be seen that the reversal of the direction of rotation of the rolls 14 by the use of the extra pinions 16 is compensated for by the use of the extra gear 7 or'5 for driving thegear 11 so no change in the direction of rotation of the driving shaft 10 or of the color rollers has to be made over the usual practice. The gear 11 is permanent and is mounted in stationary bearings.

In order to accomplish this result, a supporting sector shaped sub frame 18 and a cover frame 25 are provided centered on the shaft 8 and adjustably mounted about it by the use of slots 19` and securing bolts 2O connected to the frame of the machine. The cover frame 25 extends back over'the gear 16 This has not been possible heretofore, but can be done with this Way of supporting them. rlhey also act to steady and reinforce the studs. These frames are adjusted by screws 21 passing through lugs on the frame in a simple manner. This subframe and cover frame are provided With a series of slots 22 for receiving the studs 23 on which the pinions 16 are mounted. The rolls 14 are adjusted individually by their screws 24.

As it is not possible to set the frames and gears in absolutely correct position for all sizes of roll, these slots 22 are elongated and after the gears are set in position, doweled Washers 26 are set on at both sides of the studs 23 and secured in adjusted position by nuts on both ends.

Each gear 13 is also provided with an individual guard 30 adjustable about a pivot stud 23 as the line between this stud, the center of the gear 13, and the shaft 8 is broken to adjust for diiferent sized rolls. Each guard 30 is tangentially hinged to a` supporting plate 31 and provided with a spring hinge 32 to hold it in and allow it to be swung out by hand. The plate 31 is siviveled on the stud 23 but fixed in adjusted position to the frame by a nut and dovveled collar 26 on each end. The pinions 16 and their studs are adjusted in the slot 22. Then the collars 26 are applied and drilled for the dowels 33 which are afterwards inserted, making everything firm. lVithout removing the nut, the guard 30 can be swung out and the gear adjusted because of an opening` 35 in Which the nut on that end of the stud is located.

Now it will be seen that the internn-xdiate gear 11 practically never has to be changed and the shaft 10 therefore does not have to be adjusted. There is no adjustment of these parts and the various diiculties encounteredL by such adjustments are entirely eliminated. The pinions 16 are in perfect mesh with the intermediate gear 11 at all times. When the rollers 14 are changed, the pinions 16 are at the same time adjusted, and instead of having a number of heavy gears 11 to manipulate and store, only one and a series of small pinions 16 constitute all the part-s. They are easily set at the time of assembling the machine by means of the nuts on the studs 23 and their setting at the time of changing the print rollers 14 requires no adjustment except the loosening of the bolts 2O and the adjustment of the screw 21 to get them in perfect mesh With gears 13. As a matter of fact, a great many sizes of rollers 14 can be accommodated in this way These adjustments are much simpler than the adjustment of the shaft 10 and the replacement of the gear 11 Which is entirely eliminated by this invention. The studs 23 are held firmly and the gears 16 fully guarded by the cover plate The pinions are adequately guarded by individual adjustable guards 30. A simple and convenient speed change arrangen'ient is previded.

Although we have illustrated and described only one form of the invention, we are aware of the fact that modifications can be made therein by any person skilled in the art Without depart-ing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, We do not Wish to be limited to all the details of construction herein shown and described, but What We do claim is z 1. In a color printing machine, the combination with a main cylinder and a series of color rollers mounted to contact therewith,

ofan intermediate gear centered on the samev Vmeans for preventing their adjustment ra.-`

dially. f v .v

2. In a color printing machine, the combination with a main cylinder mounted tov rotate freely, anV intermediate gearV adapted to rotate on an axis concentric with the cylinder, a gear in stationary bearings,`and a pinion meshing with the last named gear'for driving the intermediate gear, of a series of pinions meshing with the intermediate gear,

a series of color rollers contacting with the cylinder and each having a drivinggear meshing with one of said pinions, each of said pinions being located in the area between the center of the intermediate gear and the circumference of one'ofthe roll driving gears, and means whereby said pinions can be 'adjusted circumferentially to drivev color roll gears of different sizes.

3. In a printing machine, the combination with a main cylinder mounted to rotate freely and a series of color rollers mounted to contact with the cylinder, of an intermediate gear rotatable on the shaft `of the cylinder, means for driving the intermediate gear, an arcuate gear guard adjustable circumferentially, a series of pinions mounted under said guard and meshing with the intermedia-te gear and with theV gears of the color rollers, said guard extending over the teeth of the intermediate gear, and means for holding said guard in adjusted positions.

4. In a multicolor printing machine, the combination with a platen cylinder and a concentric series of color rollers mounted to contact therewith, of a permanent intermediate gear centered on the same axis as the cylinder, a series of pinions for driving the color rollers from the intermediateV gear, 4a. sector shaped sub frame centered on the axis of the cylinder and adapted to be adjusted about and held, andan arcuate cover frame carried by the sub frame and extending over the pinions to protect their teeth and to provide a support for the studs of the pinions.

5. In a. multicolor printing machine, the combination with a platen cylinder and a concentric series of color rollers mounted to contact therewith, each having a driving gear, of a permanent intermediate gear centered on the same axis as the cylinder, a series of pinions for driving the color rollers from the intermediate'gear, an arcuate guard for the pinions and the teeth ofthe intermediate gear, and a series o-f separate guards for the roll gears.

6. In a textile color printing machine, the combination with a main cylinder, a series of color rollers mounted to contact therewith, and a driving gear on eachroll, of an intermediate gear centered 0n` the same axis as the cylinder, means for drivin said interme-V diate gear, a series of pinions or driving the color rollers from the intermediate gear, said pinions being circumferentially adjustable to zpermit the use of dierent sized rolls, and individual guards for the drivingfgears', eachheld at the center ofapinion and pivotallyv adjustable thereabout. l

7. The combination with a printing roll,

its driving .gear and a pinion adjustable laterally for driving the gear, of a guard for the gear comprising a plate swiveled concentrically with a pinion, a guard plate pivoted to ,the plate on a tangential axis, and means for yieldingly holding the guard in place.

8. In a color printing machine, the combination with a main cylinder'mounted torotate freely for receiving the textile material to be printed, and a series of color rollers inountedto contact with the material on the cylinder, of a permanent intermediate gear free on'the shaft of the cylinder, a gear, a tilting and sliding frame, two relatively fixed gears movableV with the frame, to bring one of themV into or out of mesh with said gear, another gear on the frame, whereby when the frame is tilted to one side the intermediate gear will be driven by the single gear and by the double gear when tilted to the other side at a different speed, and a series of pinions meshing with. the intermediate gear andwith whereby said pinions can be adjusted circumferentially to drive color roll gears of diiferent sizes, two frames adjustable on the main cylinder and having slot-s, studs for saidpinions passing through the slots and doweled collars on the studs to hold them in adjusted n positions on the frames. Y

In testimony whereof we have hereunto affixed our signatures. v Y

HERMAN A.' SMITH. GEORGE H. THOMSON. STEPHEN B. STAFFORD. 

